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Poetry of Anne Bradstreet

As was previously implied, her symbolism often foreshadows the work of the later romantic poets.

Wendy Martin points out: "Bradstreet's faith is paradoxically achieved by immersing herself in the beauty and strength of nature, and her hope for heaven is an expression of a desire to live forever a prolongation of earthly joy rather than a renunciation of life's pleasures " (Martin 17). Another look at "Contemplations" shows how this is true: "Then higher on the Blistering Sun I gaz'd,/Whose beams was shaded by the leavie Tree,/The more I look'd, the more I grew amaz'd,/And softly said, what glory's like to thee?" There is considerable admiration for nature in these lines. Her Puritan background does not make it impossible for her to really delight in nature and appreciate its works.

Martin further suggests: "Anne Bradstreet ultimately represented her life as a pilgrimage toward heaven, but her work reveals that it was actually a journey from artistic ambition to resolute piety. In spite of her intensely religious society, much of Bradstreet's work is occupied with secular concerns; in spite of the dangers of public assertion by a woman, she longed for recognition, and in spite of her concerted efforts to be devout, she was finally unable to fully accept the Puritan God" (Martin 1819). In this passage, Martin sums up some very important facts about Bradstreet.

But it should not be thought that Bradstreet was a victim of the type of Puritanism popularly considered as existing during her time. The early English Puritans were not longfaced

reformers or haters of art and music. Instead, they were intelligent, disciplined, plainly dressed citizens who believed in simplicity and democratic concepts. Essentially, the term "Puritan" was applied, during Elizabeth's reign, to those who desired to "purify" the Church of England. The Puritanism of Massachusetts did have developments which made it a stricter approach to religion tha...